The Betrayal of the Trusted
by Bailation
Summary: Hermione meets a man who promises her he can earn her a promotion in the Ministry, then betrays her in the most despicable way possible. Can Ron save her from the horrific mess she's gotten herself into and, ultimately, her sanity?
1. The Friendly Stranger

Two years after the war against Voldemort, Hermione Granger had finished her education at Hogwarts School (without the company of Harry and Ron, who had both dived into their Auror training straight away) and was currently working at the Ministry in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

One night as Hermione finished up in her office, she received a Patronus from Ron, inviting her to the flat he shared with Harry in Diagon Alley for dinner. Hermione replied immediately that she would be there in a half hour. She shuffled her papers and gathered them into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder and Disapparating on the spot. She needed to do one last thing before leaving to Ron and Harry's flat.

Not a moment later, Hermione entered the Leaky Cauldron, where she was meeting a man named Will Booker, who had contacted her at work that day and promised her he could get her a promotion in her department.

She spotted him at the bar; he was a tall, thin, brunette man who was around her own age, probably a bit older, and who she only had seen earlier that day, but he assured her he worked higher up in the Department, and they simply had yet to be introduced. He smiled at her as she sat down beside him, holding out a hand for her to shake.

"Mr. Booker," Hermione said professionally, shaking his hand. "I really only have a half hour, so –"

"Not a problem, not a problem," he said, still smiling. "Miss Granger, I was planning to meet the Head of the your Department, just after you so we could all discuss your situation together, but I told him I would meet him down the street at a Muggle pub. It was for his convenience of course, he asked of it…"

Hermione frowned, thinking this was a bit unlike her Head of Department. However, she agreed to follow Will to the pub, which he assured her was only a block away. If anything happened, she _did_ have her wand…

They stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron, and started walking to the left, where there were less people walking on the dark streets and more gloomy, old buildings looming over them, sucking them into the night.

As they walked, Hermione became a bit nervous. She didn't exactly trust Will yet, and began to wish she had dropped by the Auror Department on her way out of the Ministry and asked Ron to come with her to the meeting. They were together after all, after seven long years, and she _did _trust Ron more than anyone else. Hadn't her mother always told her to make sure she had someone with her on the streets at night (preferably a strong boy she trusted) because that made her less of a prey? What had she been thinking?

Just as if Will had read her thoughts, and just as the last trace of people disappeared down the road behind them, he grabbed her arms tightly, pushing her into a nearby alleyway and Hermione saw his eyes flash cruelly, as he Disapparated with her at his side, into the unknown.


	2. The Horrific Realization

Ron waited for Hermione in his flat for a full half hour before finally realizing something must be wrong. Hermione had never been late to anything before, and if she was, it was usually only by a few minutes.

Ron sat staring at the clock that hung in his kitchen, among the freshly cooked food he had prepared, with which he was planning to surprise Hermione. Hermione had promised to be at his flat by six o'clock, but it was now half past six. Ron was now to the stage of panic.

Deciding what he was to do at that very moment, Ron rose from the table, withdrew his wand, and whispered, "_Expecto Patronum!" _ironically thinking of Hermione as he did so. He commanded his terrier Patronus to find Hermione and ask her where she was.

Once his Patronus had shot off in a silver light, Ron Disapparated to the Burrow, leaving the meal he had prepared abandoned on the table.

Ron banged on the door of his former home, hoping to Merlin that Harry was here visiting Ginny, who still lived with her parents. His mother answered the door, looking a bit flustered and clearly surprised to see her youngest son on her threshold unannounced.

"Ron, what - ?"

"Is Harry here?" Ron asked abruptly, pushing past Mrs. Weasley and looking around the living room, as if expecting Harry to pop out from behind the couch.

"Yes, he's upstairs with Ginny, but –"

Ron didn't pause to listen, but proceeded to the stairs, racing up to the second landing where Ginny's room was located. He hammered on her door, and she opened the door quickly, looking thunderstruck. Harry was sitting on her bed behind her, looking a bit guilty. Ron, ignoring the voice in the back of his head screaming at him what Harry and Ginny were probably doing moments previously, pushed past his sister and addressed Harry.

"Mate, we have a problem. It's – it's Hermione."

Instantly, Harry was on his feet and withdrawing his wand, looking anxious. "What's happened?"

"She told me she'd be at our flat at six," said Ron, feeling slightly nauseated from the panic he was encountering, "and she never showed. I sent her a Patronus, and I would've heard from her by now, she must not have her wand…" Ron trailed off, unable to think of all the horrific possibilities of what could've happened to Hermione. He looked at Harry, silently pleading with him. "She's never been late to anything, Harry, something's happened to her –"

"Let's go," said Harry at once, striding to the doorway of Ginny's room, before an infuriated voice stopped both of them in their tracks.

"And _where_ do you think you're going?"

Ron turned to see Ginny glaring back at them, her flaming red hair identical to the color of her face. "You're not going anywhere without _me_! I care about Hermione just as much as you two do –"

"And you're not an Auror," Harry finished for her, looking like he was ready to tie Ginny to the house if he had to.

"Neither are you!" said Ginny fiercely, her face now boiling scarlet with suppressed rage. "You both are still in training –"

"Ginny, PLEASE!" bellowed Harry, now looking angry with desperation. They were losing time with this pointless argument, thought Ron, and Hermione could be traveling farther and farther from their reach…

"Gin, if it we knew exactly what's happened with Hermione, and it was safe, we would let you come, but it's the question of if she's been kidnapped or something worse, and we can't allow you to come –"

"Why not?" yelled Ginny furiously, taking a step closer to Harry.

"BECAUSE I CAN"T LOSE YOU!" Harry exploded, and Ginny looked a bit taken aback. Ron, however, was having an internal battle, one side of him wishing to leave without Harry, and one side wanting to wait until he sorted it out with Ginny.

"Ginny, you're not going," said Ron bluntly, pulling Harry out of the room by the arm. He didn't miss, however, Harry pulling back slightly to kiss his sister before shooting her an apologetic look and saying, "I'm sorry."

They left Ginny standing in the middle of her room, looking shocked. Ron, however, had more pressing matters to attend. His mind flashed back to the incident at Malfoy Manor two years ago and he hoped to Merlin that Hermione was enduring absolutely no pain inflicted by someone else, especially someone as evil as Bellatrix Lestrange.


	3. The Dreadful Betrayal

The largely uncomfortable feeling caused by suddenly Disapparating disappeared as Hermione was thrown onto a stone floor that had appeared before her. Before she had time to even process what had happened, a harsh voice echoed through the small dungeon-like room:

"_Accio wand!"_

Her vine wood wand, which she had drawn in a split second and which she was holding loosely in her hand, flew away from her to a dark corner, where Will Booker emerged from the shadows, fingering the wand Hermione had purchased at Ollivander's almost ten years ago.

One look at his face told Hermione she had made the biggest mistake she ever had done, which she realized all too late, that may cost her life.

"You helped vanquish the Dark Lord," said Will, his friendly face suddenly harsh, an evil shadow had obscured the false pleasure that had lured her after him. It was not a question, but a statement. "You and Potter and that blood-traitor Weasley."

Hermione's blood boiled as he called Ron a blood-traitor. So this was only another Death Eater who wanted to finish them all off? "He had it coming to him," Hermione spat, her back inching up against the wall as she stood up.

"Not this time, poppet," said Will, his tone biting and vicious. They stared at each other for only moment before Will swiftly approached Hermione and slapped her across the face, leaving a red imprint spread over her cheek. Hermione squeezed her eyes and bit her lip to keep from yelling out; she wouldn't be giving him the satisfaction, even if he tortured her into her premature death.

"Where's Harry Potter?" asked Will ruthlessly, grabbing Hermione by the collar of her robes and slamming her against the stone wall; her head cracking against the flagstone echoed through the room. She momentarily blacked out as lights popped before her eyes…don't give in…don't give in…

"He's in Australia!" she invented wildly, her head spinning. "On an Auror mission…"

"LIES!" screeched Will, throwing Hermione hard against the hard, stone floor. "My sources tell me Potter hasn't even finished his training yet!"

Will aimed Hermione's wand at her, and Hermione, wandless and defenseless, endured, for the second time in her life, the pain and suffering of the Cruciatus Curse as Will shouted the Unforgivable word to the heavens: "CRUCIO!"

She was on fire. It was as if a thousand white-hot, scalding knives had entered her body at different points, then, to add brutal injury, lit on fire for an extra douse of extreme pain. But she would not scream…she could not…

She hadn't even realized the scream had left her lips until the second round of pain was over. Will had tortured her once again, and this round was much worse, making it impossible for her to hold her scream in.

"That's what I'm talking about!" yelled Will gleefully, fully enjoying himself. "_That's _the kind of scream I want to hear! Let's hear it again, shall we…?"

"No…" the word was hardly out of her mouth before the sharp pains came even worse than the first and second time, it was beyond pain…and she barely had a voice to scream…the pain had shocked all her senses frozen...she only wanted to die…death would stop all this blinding pain…

And just as suddenly as the pain had come, it went away. Hermione could only faintly hear what Will said next.

"I'll give you one last chance to tell the truth," said Will, quite calmly, but she could hear the anticipation in his voice. "_Where's Harry Potter?_"

Hermione was silent, hoping it would be better to say nothing than to tell another lie. She had sunk to the ground and was breathing hard, her vision blurry and even her hearing a bit fuzzy.

Will waited for only a moment for her to answer before firing one last Cruciatus directly at her left temple.

This was all her body could take. Everything was black as Hermione felt herself falling…hoping to Merlin that Ron and Harry would find her body instead of more Death Eaters…

As she hit the floor, Hermione Granger was almost certain that she was dead.


	4. The Anxious Search

It had been a day since Hermione's mysterious disappearance, and Ron and Harry had gathered all the qualified Aurors they could find from the Ministry and searched endlessly. They had explored every possible place Hermione could be: every shop in Diagon Alley, all of Hogwarts grounds, along with Hogsmeade; the Ministry, St. Mungo's, the homes of every person Hermione had contact with, including her own flat…

Just when Ron feared they would never find her, Harry and the Aurors began to dig deeper.

Exactly twenty-five hours after Hermione had failed to attend Ron's dinner, Ron, Harry, Kingsley Shacklebolt, John Dawlish, and a number of other Aurors were gathered around Ron's small kitchen table, discussing the next step in the search for Hermione Granger.

"When was the last you saw or heard of her?" Kingsley asked Ron. Straight away, Ron answered,

"We were supposed to meet at my flat at six," said Ron clearly. "She sent me a Patronus saying she was meeting someone for work about a half hour beforehand…" he trailed off as he now realized how they could trace Hermione's location.

"– at…at the Leaky Cauldron."

Kingsley and Harry looked at each other while Ron read what they were thinking by their expressions: if anyone at the Leaky Cauldron had seen Hermione, they might have a lead to where she may be.

The Aurors quickly Apparated in pairs to the Leaky Cauldron, where they burst through the doors and approached the bar, where Tom the barman looked up from cleaning the bar, startled by the intrusion.

"Evening, Tom," said Kingsley casually. "We're doing an investigation and we were wondering if we could ask you a question or two."

Tom nodded silently, and Kingsley continued in a low voice, "Last night, Hermione Granger went missing. She was supposed to be at the Leaky Cauldron a half hour before six. Did you see her at all?"

"Certainly I did," said Tom at once, looking surprised at this new developing piece of news. "She was sitting right at this bar, with another bloke. Looked to be a business meeting, I would say. She had only sat down for a moment before they both left together, around six thirty-five. Hadn't even ordered a drink, she hadn't."

Harry, who looked just as surprised as Ron felt that they had found someone who had seen her so quickly, spoke up, "Can you give us a description of the man she was with?"

"Tall, brown-haired. Handsome bloke, 'round twenty-five or –six."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about last night?" asked Ron, craving for more information.

"No, don't know nothing more, Mr. Weasley." Tom resumed his cleaning of the bar.

"Thank you, Tom, you've been a huge help," said Kingsley, turning to leave. Tom smiled a toothless grin in return and Ron followed the rest of the Aurors out the door of the Leaky Cauldron.

More talk of the search resumed, but Ron could barely listen, his stomach at the moment was doing great flips, front and back. He couldn't imagine what was happening with Hermione, and he didn't wish to. A sudden, cruel thought snaked itself into his brain: what if Hermione was seeing someone else, and simply ran away with him, leaving everyone who loved her, including Ron, to wonder her whereabouts?

But Ron quickly shut that possibility out; he had known Hermione far too long, he knew her better than he knew himself, and he knew she would never, in a million years, do anything as cruel as that to him…

Ron was thrust back into reality as Harry suggested Apparating back to his flat to discuss the terrible dilemma further.

"We're going to have to prepare further for this," said Kingsley sadly. "It looks like we're facing a kidnapping."


	5. The Painful Suffering

It had been a week. Seven, long, agonizingly painful days. Hermione lay in a heap on the hard, stone floor of what she had learned to be Will Booker's basement. She hadn't eaten for those seven days, and she was slowly losing the energy to stay alive. Will had performed the Cruciatus Curse on her at least ten times on each of those seven days, trying to get information out of her about Harry. Finally, he had left her to fade away in his cold basement after she had still refused to give away Harry's location. And she now knew that she was going to die a slow and painful death. No one who would bother saving her knew Will, his only other friends were fellow Death Eaters.

She could hardly think. Her body was fighting Death determinedly, but her head was shouting to give up. Her physical condition was much too fragile to survive another one of Will's attacks, and she knew she would most likely go mad like Neville's parents if Will was to perform it on her again.

And despite her delicate state, her few thoughts were occupied by Harry and Ron. She longed to see the both of them, to see their grinning faces one last time before she either starved to death or went mad with the Cruciatus Curse, whichever came first. She wanted to tell them both that she loved them, that she was sorry for every argument they had ever gotten into.

Hermione especially needed to see Ron. To see his sparkling blue eyes stare at her with the love she knew he had toward her. She needed to see his lopsided grin grow bigger at the sight of her, and she knew, only her. She needed to kiss him one last time, with as much passion as she could muster, before she left this cruel planet and all the ruthless Death Eaters on it…

Hermione felt sleep overcoming her, or perhaps, death. No, she thought, it's sleep. I will know when I'm dying.

The last visual picture that shown out in her mind that night was one of Ron and Harry, their faces looking the happiest they had ever been.


	6. The Astonishing Memory

It had been a weeks and a half since Hermione had gone missing, and still there had been no lead since the Aurors' interrogation with Tom the barman. By now, Hermione's photograph covered the wizarding world, on posters and covers of _Daily Prophets_ everywhere, with the word "missing" always in the same sentence as her name.

Ron lay in bed at two in the morning, awake and unable to sleep. Sometimes, Hermione would come over to his flat in the middle of the night because of a nightmare and crawl into his bed with him. He would find her asleep next to him in the morning, and he knew she had checked to make sure he was still alive.

Now, Ron wished he could do the same to her.

After days of hope and denial, Ron had to finally accept that if they hadn't found Hermione by now, there was a good chance they would never find her alive.

The tears that had been threatening to fall finally did. Ron sobbed harder as the tears fell faster, all he could think about was that Hermione was gone.

And yet, a part of him still seemed to know she _had_ to be alive…that she was still fighting for her life, wherever she was.

Ron's eyes shot open as a sudden comprehension struck him like a Bludger to the head. Hermione had spoken to him a few hours before her disappearance at the Ministry…she had told him about meeting a fellow employee who had promised her a promotion…and then she had reminded him by Patronus a few hours later because he had forgotten and invited her to dinner…

And the name flashed before Ron's eyes. He suddenly knew what had happened to Hermione, and he knew what he needed to do. Immediately, he bolted out of bed and Disapparated on the spot.

He appeared outside the small flat and pounded on the door. He waited a few moments before banging on the door once again, fidgeting impatiently on the spot...time had already been wasted significantly…

Harry ripped open the door, looking exhausted and irritated in his pajamas. When he saw Ron, however, all aggravation disappeared from his face and was replaced by genuine concern.

"Ron, what - ?"

Ron urgently interrupted him. "I know where Hermione is. We need to notify Kingsley and dig up whatever information the Ministry has on Will Booker."


	7. The Heroic Rescue

By the time Ron and Harry had been able to reach Kingsley, it was nearly four in the morning. All three of them met at the Ministry, and they searched their files for a man named Will Booker. Ron had recalled his story of remembering the name Hermione had mentioned almost four days ago with both of them.

Harry was the one who found the file. Booker's address was listed on his record, and Ron scanned the file hopefully, desperately trying to find some evil history on the man. However, he found nothing. Will Booker had a clean record as far as the Ministry was concerned. Nevertheless, Ron knew that though someone might have a clean record according to the Ministry, this did not keep the person from being a Death Eater.

Kingsley, Harry, Ron and two other Aurors who had been called for backup, Dawlish and Proudfoot, immediately Disapparated to Will Booker's home in Ottery St. Catchpole. Kingsley knocked on the door a few times; since it was only nearly dawn, Mr. Booker was most likely asleep.

But to all their surprise, Will Booker answered the door straight away, suspiciously fully dressed as if he never slept.

"William Booker?" Kingsley asked in his deep voice.

"Yes?" Booker had a good-natured face, but it had turned suspicious at the sight of five Aurors on his threshold.

"We're from the Ministry," said Kingsley needlessly, holding up his Auror badge with the other four. "Do you mind us stepping in for a few questions?"

The suspiciousness that had masked Booker's face quickly evaporated as he said, "Yes, yes, of course, come in!" But Ron glared at him as he passed him on the way in…something wasn't right about this bloke…

They sat in Booker's living room, but Ron noticed Booker sat down only to stand again; he seemed quite apprehensive as he wrung his hands nervously.

"Now Mr. Booker, we're going to have to first see your Ministry I.D.," said Kingsley, "just so we know you're you."

Ron knew there were other ways of finding that out, forceful ways, but Kingsley seemed to want to do this as calmly as possible. Ron envied his tranquility, despite the nerve-wracking situation that was slowly killing Ron from the inside.

"Alright…yeah…just a moment, I have it in the other room…" Booker flashed a good-natured smile at them, but Ron wasn't falling for it. If Booker knew anything about Hermione's disappearance, and if he was part of the cause for it, Ron definitely didn't trust him.

Booker left and the five Aurors began to converse, Kingsley leading with instructions.

"All right, I'm going to start the questioning about Miss Granger when he gets back…Dawlish, I want you to be ready with notes…" Dawlish nodded and rummaged through his pockets for a quill and parchment.

"Potter, you know what to do if he doesn't cooperate…the Veriteserum, if you please…"

Just as Harry was handing over the truth serum to Kingsley, a dreadful scream echoed throughout the house. All five of them froze, staring at each other in horror. But Ron knew better…he knew that scream anywhere…

"Looks like we won't need to question him, then," said Kingsley, drawing his wand. "Let's go."

The other four followed Kingsley to where the source of the scream seemed to be coming from: the basement.

Now holding up his own wand, Ron fought his way in front of Kingsley. He wanted to be the first to rescue Hermione…he wanted to be the one who whisked her away from this awful torture chamber…

The five Aurors quietly made their way down the cement stairs. Ron turned a corner and saw, to his horror and relief, Hermione in what seemed to be a very unstable condition. But what he saw next made his blood boil to an exploding point.

Will Booker stood above Hermione, screaming at her, "You see what you do, you stupid Mudblood? Potter and your blood-traitor boyfriend are here, looking for you!"

Hermione was kneeling on the ground, the wall supporting her body, looking like she could barely keep herself alive. Many bruises and scars were scattered across her body, and there were very prominent, purple shadows under her eyes. Her cheeks were sunken, as if she hadn't eaten for a very long time. She looked up at Booker, hopelessness filling the tears in her eyes. "Don't…don't tell me that…they can't be…"

Booker gave a roar of rage and struck Hermione across the head with his fist. She fell to the floor where she lay barely conscious. Ron and Harry both reacted at the exact same time and yelled with their wands pointed at Booker's turned back: "STUPEFY!"

Booker fell to the ground, the impact of his body hitting the floor echoing off the stone walls. Ron frantically ran to Hermione, where she lay stirring against the wall.

"Hermione?" Ron stroked back her hair in order to see her face; she looked like Death himself close up. The new bruise Booker had created was growing into a nasty purple color against her forehead. She stirred feebly and half-opened her eyes to meet his. A small, weak smile reached her lips when she saw his face.

"Ron…" she reached up with a shaking hand and cupped his face; she seemed to be testing that he was real. Ron covered her frail wrist with his own hand and let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Hermione was alive and her memory hadn't seemed to be affected. But she was in no good health…

Hermione's eyes suddenly left his to look around at something behind him. "Harry…" she said, now reaching out to weakly squeeze his hand. Harry smiled and squeezed it back. "Hey, Hermione." She appeared to want to test that they were both physically real, as if she had been having hallucinations, which, Ron thought undoubtedly, she probably had.

"Ron, we have to get her to St. Mungo's," said Harry urgently, drawing Ron out of his thoughts.

He nodded, and without asking Hermione, swept her up into his arms gently and gingerly, as if she was a precious, fragile thing that he was afraid to break, which, Ron felt, she was.

Hermione didn't seem to mind, and laid her head against his chest, closing her eyes at the feel of him. Ron gently kissed her forehead, and sighed as they Disapparated to the hospital, feeling like he could finally breathe again.


	8. The Mad Outburst

"I DON'T CARE IF THE SCUM ISN'T A MURDERER, HE MIGHT AS WELL BE FOR WHAT HE'S PUT HER THROUGH! I WANT HIM DEAD, D'YOU HEAR ME?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, I hear you quite clearly," said Kingsley, frowning reproachfully at him as the Healers around them stared at Ron. "But I'm afraid he can't be executed unless he's done much worse than keep a witch in a basement for a few days."

"A FEW DAYS? HE WAS STARVING HER AND SHE WOULD'VE DIED - !"

"Yes, and if she had died, it would be a whole different story. The Healers said she would be fine, and the best we can hope, for regarding Mr. Booker, is the Dementor's Kiss, and even that's unlikely. He goes on trial in a week, and he's most likely to get a few years in Azkaban."

Ron glared at Kingsley, and spat, "WELL, IF YOU WON'T KILL HIM, I WILL!"

Harry suddenly appeared beside Kingsley and said, "Ron, calm down! It's going to be alright –"

"DON'T YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!"

Harry and Kingsley looked at each other, and a mutual understanding seemed to pass between the two that Ron couldn't recognize. Together, they picked up Ron and carried him out of the hospital, where they threw him on the grass outside.

"There," said Harry. "Now you can have your tantrum and shout and scream until you feel you're mature enough to be in public again."

However, Ron only picked himself up from the ground and started pacing the grass. "No one understands what's happened to her! She told me what he did! Right away, when they allowed us to see her! Cruciatus Curse attacks every hour…slapping and hitting her around…no food for three days…" Ron trailed off and felt the tears well up in his eyes. He wiped them away impatiently and inhaled a shaky breath. "She's not the same as before either. She's not – not like she was."

Kingsley put a hand on his shoulder, and Ron no longer had the energy to throw it off. "She might never be the same, suffering the Cruciatus Curse in two different encounters at such a young age? The Curse can drain the body, physically and mentally, and Miss Granger has survived more than most could even dream of enduring."

Ron looked down at his feet; Kingsley's words were only making him feel worse. Harry put a hand on his other shoulder and said, "We're going to get her through this. She been through a lot more than we can even imagine, and she needs us. She needs _you_, Ron."

Ron looked up and met Harry's eyes, and he instantly knew he was right. He, Ron, couldn't fall apart now when Hermione needed him the most.

"I'm sorry," he said, his head drooping so he was looking back at his feet. "I'm sorry I yelled. She just…I can't stand thinking about what he's done to her."

Harry and Kingsley nodded understandingly, and they were all silent until the Head Healer who had been caring for Hermione poked his head outside and told Ron and Harry that Hermione was asking for them.

Ron and Harry followed the Healer to Hermione's room. They had left her alone when Kingsley had told them they needed to discuss the fate of Will Booker. Ron had instantly started yelling when Kingsley told him Booker had been sent to Azkaban, but his punishment would probably only be prison once his trial is complete.

Hermione was sitting up in her bed against a series of pillows and smiled weakly as Harry and Ron entered. Ron didn't think there was anything better than seeing her smile, even if it was feeble.

Almost immediately as Ron and Harry took their seats next to her bed, Hermione burst into tears and they both automatically wrapped their arms around her and hugged her tightly. She sobbed heavily into their chests, but neither of them pulled away until she did first.

She finally pulled reluctantly away from the both of them, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Ron desperately wanted take her face in his hands and wipe them for her, but he couldn't be sure she was ready for that kind of personal comfort.

She held both their hands in each of hers, and said, "I thought I wouldn't see either of you again."

Truthfully, Ron mutually thought this about her, but he said nothing, as did Harry.

"Harry, can you leave me alone with Ron?" asked Hermione, he eyes shining with weariness.

Harry smiled good-naturedly and said, "Sure, Hermione." He gently kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand before leaving the room and closing the door behind him, leaving Ron alone with Hermione.

Immediately, Ron looked into her eyes and saw immense sadness. "Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked, and then instantly regretted it. _What do you _think_ is wrong, Weasley?_ he thought to himself. _She's just been tortured and starved for three days!_

"I can't stop thinking about it," said Hermione, and Ron squeezed her hand into both of his. "I honestly thought I was going to die, and I was hoping you and Harry would find my body instead of the Death Eaters…I wanted to at least be left with some dignity –"

"Don't you say that!" Ron cut across her sharply. "Don't you dare think that we weren't going to find you! We – Hermione, we were searching for you for three straight days, we had the whole Wizarding world looking for you!"

Hermione stared at him, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted. "I know, Ron. I didn't mean it like that. I only meant – I had given up hope. I couldn't believe that you had come to find me because I thought…I thought it could only happen in a dream."

At this gentle attempt to avoid a row, Ron's expression softened and he tangled his hands more securely around Hermione's. "I'm sorry," he said, bowing his head down over their hands. "I didn't mean to snap…it's just…I thought I had lost you, and I can't bare the thought." Ron looked up and felt his eyes welling with tears. He gave up on his gentle approach and threw his arms around Hermione, pulling her into his chest. She wrapped her own arms around his waist, and he felt her fingers stroking his back as he sobbed into her hair. There was so much going through his head at the moment…he was so relieved that she was alive, yet so full of rage toward Will Booker, but he was determined not to show Hermione how furious he really was…all he wanted now was to hold her in his arms and never let go…

"I missed you so much," mumbled Hermione into his chest. Ron grinned through his tears and pulled back enough to look into her eyes. "I love you, Hermione. I missed you too; I don't know what I would do without you."

And then it happened; she smiled. A true, genuine smile that told Ron that, even if it had been in the darkest of days, she and everything around them would be alright. She fell into his arms again and muttered, "I love you, Ron."


	9. The Weird Madness

Hermione left St. Mungo's a week after she was checked in. The Healers had performed a series of tests on her to ensure nothing inside her had been damaged too severely. After the umpteenth test, however, Hermione burst out that she was quite fine, and the Healers took pity on her and allowed her to go home.

Ron, on the other hand, was convinced Hermione wasn't the same as before. She would have moments where she would get a faraway look in her eyes and she would become entranced in something only she could see. When this happened, Ron would shake her from her trance, and she would look at him as if she was waking from a deep sleep.

Will Booker had been sent to Azkaban on a five-year sentence, which Ron insisted indignantly, was a complete injustice. Through his eyes, Hermione didn't seem to mind, but he assured her that neither Will nor anyone else would ever hurt her again.

However, it had only been a week after she had checked out did Hermione start having real troubles.

Ron had insisted that she moved in with him and Harry for the time being so they could keep an eye on her. He didn't think it was quite a good idea for her to be in a flat alone in her rather fragile condition.

It was at the very early hours of the morning when a horrible, penetrating scream echoed throughout the little flat, waking Harry and Ron and causing their hearts to jump to their throats. They withdrew their wands and ran to Hermione's room, from which the source of the scream was coming.

Hermione sat up her bed, tears streaming down her face, and her eyes staring unfocused at the wall. She was breathing hard as if she had just ran a race, but when she looked at Ron and Harry, she let out another horrible scream and scrambled back against her pillows as far from Ron and Harry as she could get, true terror reflecting in her eyes. "Stop! You're not real! You both are a hallucination – You're not here –"

Ron and Harry looked at each other, bewildered. What was wrong with her? Was she only enduring a frightening dream, while still really asleep? Ron turned back to Hermione and approached her, looking into her horrified eyes, and knew she wasn't asleep, but very much awake. "Hermione, what's wrong? Of course we're real –" He tried to grab her flailing arms, but she was too quick for him. She grabbed her wand off the nearby table and, pointing it at Ron, yelled "_Expelliarmus!" _

Ron flew backward into the wall with a loud crash. He quickly got up and shook off the pounding pain of his newly born headache and withdrew his own wand, holding it so as to block whichever curse came flying next. Harry could only stare at Hermione with an expression between confusion and fright. Ron stood there, wondering why on earth Hermione was acting like this, like she was frightened of them, of her two best friends in the world. The only thing he could think to do was help her in whatever way he could.

Then, something even more astonishing happened. Hermione stopped screaming at the two, and her eyes lost all traces of terror. She looked between the two with a perfectly normal expression, which quickly turned confused when she saw the looks on their faces.

"Ron? Harry?" she asked, looking unsure of the situation. "What's wrong? You two look like Death himself."

What was this? Was she pranking them, or did she really not have an idea to what just happened? "Hermione?" asked Ron carefully. She turned to look at him, her previously wild brown eyes suddenly calm. "Do you remember what happened just now? Just in the last few moments?"

Hermione frowned and looked worried. "Ron, are you alright? You're scaring me. We were just discussing my parents. They're still in Australia and you and Harry were going to help me bring them back, remember?"

Ron and Harry exchanged wide-eyed stares. Hermione seemed to be under the impression that the date was two years previous, when they had both snuck into the room she shared with Ginny at the Burrow after everyone else had gone to sleep and talked about bringing her parents back to Britain.

How had this happened? Ron thought furiously. Hermione couldn't be going mad…she was _Hermione. _After a few moments of silence, Ron could only think of one thing to do.

"Hermione," he said, carefully approaching her and gently grabbing her hand. "Come with us. We're going to St. Mungo's."


	10. The Strange Hallucination

Hermione woke in a strange place. She was in a warm bed with a soft blanket enveloping her, but the environment around her felt tense. She sat up and saw a few Healers passing the door to her room; she was at St. Mungo's. What had happened?

Her mind was spinning; she couldn't remember where she was when she fell unconscious or how she got into the hospital. But surely Ron and Harry had the answer and were somewhere nearby…

She climbed out of the bed and walked out of the room in her nightgown. She saw the waiting room at the end of the hall and talking to one of the Healers was…Ron.

Hermione suddenly had no thoughts in her brilliant head; all she knew was that she needed to see Ron, to see his lopsided grin and to have his arms around her body. She was running toward him, and suddenly found herself yelling his name to make him turn around, "Ron!"

He turned and she rushed into his arms, catching a glimpse of his surprised expression before burying her face in his shoulder and completely succumbing to sobs. She felt his arms envelope her torso protectively as she gripped the back of his shirt. "Hermione!"

"Ron, what's going on? Why am I here?" asked Hermione into his chest, choking back sobs.

Ron pulled away, but kept her in his arms, and avoided her eyes. "Hermione, you just…you went into this..." he didn't seem to be able to string together the right words. He finally met her eyes and said, "You just had…a mental breakdown."

The mind within Hermione suddenly went black. She was drifting away from reality, into a semi-conscious world that only consumed her. And she fell…

She was suddenly back in reality, but Ron was nowhere to be seen, and she was no longer at St. Mungo's. Instead, Will Booker stood before her.

"What are you doing here?" asked Hermione sharply, though her voice shook with succumbed fear. "Go away! You stay away from me!"

"Hermione…" Will Booker sounded like he was pleading with her, and for some reason, he sounded exactly like Ron. He was coming closer to her and disregarding her yelling.

"No! Stay back! Stay _back_!" cried Hermione, backing away, but she seemed to have hit an invisible force which she couldn't get past. "You're not real! You're not real!"

Will Booker reached out to touch her, and she thrashed and screamed as he tried to restrain her…

And she was falling again.


	11. The Terrible Truth

In a matter of minutes, Hermione had gone from perfectly sane to completely bonkers.

Ron, who now had tears flowing from his cheeks, sat down as two Healers took his still-screaming Hermione away from him. He bowed his head into his hands and thought of the last few moments.

She had come out of her hospital room, running at Ron, and flinging her arms around him, asking where she was and what had happened. When Ron tried to explain, she had gone into a sudden hallucination and yelled at him to stay back. He and the Healers had tried to restrain her, but she still seemed to think Ron was someone who wanted to harm her.

Now, Ron sat with his fingers gripping his hair vaguely aware of Harry questioning Hermione's Healer next to him.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Harry, his voice etched with worry and Ron could sense he was expecting the worst.

"It's not good," said the Healer, which made Ron emit a small moan behind his palms. "This second hallucination she's experienced tells us that she's developed a certain brain injury due to the torture from the Cruciatus Curse she's endured throughout her life. You said she was tortured when she was eighteen?"

"Yeah, about two years ago."

"We're not sure, but we think that experience could've added to the damage along with the torture caused by Will Booker."

Harry inhaled shakily, and Ron felt fresh, hot tears pouring down his face as well as rage boiling within him toward Bellatrix Lestrange and Will Booker. He stood up and faced the Healer with Harry, preparing to hear the worst.

"What's going to happen to her?" asked Ron. "What are you going to do to make her right again?"

His voice had turned accusatory, but the Healer only looked at him with hopeless, apologetic sorrow. "We've never seen anything like this. Usually, a witch or wizard is emotionally and physically scarred from the Cruciatus Curse, or they go insane from the endurance. It's never in between, and the hallucinations are the strangest part of this case.

"This is very Dark magic that has driven Miss Granger to this point. There's no cure for Dark magic, ever. We can give her a daily potion to keep her in check and we will do all we can, but… she may be like this forever."

Ron staggered back as if the Healer had just slapped him. What could he possibly mean by that? "I can't accept that," said Ron through gritted teeth. He pointed toward Hermione's room and raised his voice just in the slightest. "That woman in there helped save your arse – everyone's arse – in the biggest war known to the wizarding world, she came up with all the plans, and you tell me you can do _nothing_ for her in return when she needs you most? She's about to lose her mind!"

"Mr. Weasley!" the Healer said harshly, his face now set hard. "There is nothing anyone can do for anyone who endures such tortures, wizarding or muggle! Mental illness is not like physical, we can't just cast a spell and she will be better! This is _very _Dark magic, and Dark magic cannot be cured!"

Something inside of Ron snapped at the Healer's willingness to fight back, and he was very aware that everyone in the waiting room was now staring, but he didn't care. "I'VE HAD IT! I DON'T CARE! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE ANY OF THIS! SHE'S SUFFERED MORE THAN ANYONE IN THIS ROOM AND YOU TELL ME SHE CAN'T BE CURED?"

The Healer had lost his patience at this point and waved over two other Healers, who grabbed Ron by the arms and half-carried, half-dragged him out of the waiting room.

Ron continued to rage, and was vaguely aware that Harry had stayed to talk to Hermione's Healer. Ron began to scream Hermione's name, only in the hope that she would somehow hear him.

"HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"

But at this point, Ron didn't know if Hermione could hear him as she did at Malfoy Manor, or if she was enduring another frightening hallucination.

And Ron realized with a jolt of comprehension, as the Healers threw him out of the doors to St. Mungo's, that he too had gone painfully insane.


	12. The Vicious Guilt

Ron was sitting in his vacant flat, his legs drawn up to his chest as he stared furiously at the wall. After being thrown out of St. Mungo's, he had retreated back to his home, where he sat waiting for Harry to return. He knew he no longer had anything to offer Hermione. How could he, if he was going mad too? But that didn't mean he was giving up on her, he would stick by her side until the day he died.

Ron was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't hear the door open and close as Harry returned. His footsteps got louder as he approached Ron and sat by his side. Ron didn't look up.

Something small and fragile was pushed into his hand. Ron looked down to see a small vial filled with a black potion in his palm. He looked questioningly at Harry, and Harry said, "It's her potion. The doctor says she has to take it once a day and it should keep her hallucinations under control." When Ron said nothing, Harry pressed on.

"You see? She's not going to have to go through any of this madness as long as she takes the potion –"

"She shouldn't have to go through any of this," said Ron, suddenly feeling old and stony. "It's so unfair to her. She's been through so much already, and she doesn't deserve it, any of it. And she's sacrificed so much for the both of us." Ron squeezed the bottle and rested his head against it, feeling the warmth radiating off of it, the sanity and virtually, life support for Hermione.

"I know," said Harry, wringing his hands together. "Especially for me during the war. Neither of you should've had to sacrifice that much for me…"

Ron said nothing. His stomach was doing great flips within him. "This is my entire fault."

Harry shook his head frantically. "No. Ron, none of this was in your control –"

"If I had been listening when she was telling me that she was meeting up with Booker –"

"Ron –"

"– then none of this would've ever happened."

"Ron, what would've happened differently if you had been listening properly?" asked Harry aggressively. "You would've let her go anyway!"

"Wrong!" said Ron, spinning around and towering over Harry menacingly. "I would've gone with her! I would've sent that evil bastard on his way, and I would've protected her properly…" Ron trailed off and felt tears now welling in his eyes. He wiped them away impatiently and turned away from Harry. He looked out the window and let out a shaky sigh.

"After everything that I put her through when we were in school, after I teased her and drove her up the wall…and after I left her…" Ron swallowed shakily, his Adam's apple bobbing. "The last thing she deserves is these hallucinations."

"Ron!"

Startled, Ron looked round at Harry, who now was looking at him with extreme reproach. "None of this is your fault, Ron!" he yelled, shaking his friend by the shoulders. "You couldn't control what happened to her, and yeah, maybe you were an arse to her through school, but we were _kids_! And she was pretty nasty to you, as I recall!"

At this, Ron pushed Harry away from him and withdrew his wand, pointing it at his best friend. Harry withdrew his just as fast, though his face showed surprise.

"Don't," said Ron, his voice shaking with succumbed rage, "say a word against Hermione. Every time she yelled at me throughout our youth, I deserved it. I had always done something that hurt her in some way, so don't you _ever _blame Hermione. She's the last person on earth who deserves that."

With that, Ron stowed his wand back in his pocket and turned his back from Harry's stunned face. Ignoring Harry's eyes on him, his asked "When are they letting her come home?"

There was a pause in which Harry seemed to be recovering from the previous situation. He finally cleared his throat and said in a raspy voice, "Two days."

Though Ron would've been much happier if Hermione was coming home that night, he couldn't help but brighten at the news. Two days was sooner than his was expecting, and it was the first step in returning to normality for both Hermione and Ron.


	13. The Emotional Reunion

The next two days passed in agony for Ron. He was sent a Howler from his own mother informing (or rather, screaming) that she had never been more embarrassed of one of her own children then she had been when she found out about his tantrum in the middle of St. Mungo's (no doubt the messenger was Harry).

Throughout the next two days, Ron spent his time tidying up their flat for Hermione, taking extra time to put out older pictures of her, himself, and Harry from their days at Hogwarts and making sure the flat felt familiar and comfortable for Hermione.

The day finally arrived, and on that day, Ron discovered he woke up early and started his day doing everything twice as fast, nervous with anticipation to see Hermione again. It had only been two days, but it felt like two years for Ron, especially since he knew she wasn't fully herself.

Harry woke later than Ron, a rare situation, and wandered into their tiny kitchen just as Ron was finishing breakfast. Ron looked up and glared at his best friend reproachfully.

"Harry, what are you doing?" he said, quickly waving his wand so his dish cleaned itself. "We're leaving in half an hour, and you're not even dressed yet!"

"Ron," said Harry, looking confused and glancing at the nearby clock, which read nine o'clock. "Visitation hours aren't until ten."

Ron looked away as he busied himself with scrubbing down the kitchen table, mumbling, "It'll take awhile to get there…"

"Ron, we're Apparating!"

He looked up just in time to meet his friend's eyes, which were glaring at him darkly. Harry ignored this and pushed Ron into the living room and onto the sofa.

"You need to stop this, alright? Hermione's going to be _fine. _As long as she keeps taking the potion, which I know she's sensible to keep doing, she's going to be perfectly sane, and it will be just like none of this has ever happened!"

Ron, who had been glaring at a spot on the wall through Harry's dialogue, suddenly met his eyes and nodded.

Harry gave a small smile. "All you have to do is wait one hour. Only one more hour."

Ron looked at the clock wearily and then back at Harry, and nodded silently.

* * *

The double doors of St. Mungo's burst open as Ron Weasley stepped into the hospital, striding past the receptionist, for he knew exactly where he was going. Harry was in his wake, and shot an apologetic smile at the people in the room for Ron's rather abrupt intrusion.

Ron turned a few corners until he came across Hermione's room. The door was shut, so he peeked in the small rectangular window in the door, and saw Hermione.

She was fully dressed, and packing up the small suitcase of things that Ron had brought her a few days ago when she had arrived. She knew she was going home, and Ron grinned at the thought.

With the ability to wait no longer, Ron pushed open the door, making Hermione jump as she looked around. But her look of fear turned to happiness as she saw who it was.

"Ron!" she whispered his name as if it was a lifeline, and ran into his arms, embracing him as tightly as possible without suffocating him.

Ron squeezed her just as tightly, his hands against her warm back and her heart beating erratically fast with his, the only physical evidence he could feel that told him that she was still alive.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione broke away from him and looked him up and down, her eyes scanning his body at what seemed to be every single tiny detail.

Finally she said, "You look good."

Ron gaped at her. "_Me?_ I'm not the one who's been through what you have!" He tugged at one of her curls and bent to speak in her ear. "You really are beautiful, I might add."

Hermione smiled and arched a challenging eyebrow, taunting him as she turned to embrace Harry. Ron wanted to hold onto her and never let go all over again.

Once they were all ready, Hermione bent to get her suitcase, but winced as she took the handle. She straightened again and put a hand to her back. Ron frowned with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked, using the tone that he knew she couldn't ignore. "Let me help you with that –"

"Ron, I'm fine!" Hermione nearly snapped. "I'm just a bit bruised from what I've been through, that's all –"

"That's _all_?" asked Ron disbelievingly. He couldn't believe Hermione was acting as if she had only fallen down a few stairs, but when he turned to Harry, he saw that he was shooting him a deadly warning look that clearly read "don't get her upset".

Ron was able to overtake his noble thoughts and simply held a hand to the small of Hermione's back, while she smiled up at him. His lips almost met her ear once more as he bent to speak to her privately again. He took out the vial of black potion and showed it to her.

"You know what this is, right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, and I'll take it, even though it tastes like troll boogies…"

Ron grinned uncertainly. "You'll be my hero as long as you do. It's going to help you Hermione –"

"Ron, I'm not mad!" she suddenly burst out, backing away from his arms.

He stared, suddenly taken aback. "Hermione, I know you're not –"

Before the row could go any farther, Harry had launched himself between the two. "Hey! We _can't _fight, alright? This is what splits us up, remember?" Harry shot Ron a meaningful glance that was both deadly and cautionary. Ron, who wanted to slap Harry for blaming him, simply pursed his lips and looked away. He understood that he couldn't blame Hermione, since she wasn't in the best state of mind, but this new Hermione would get some getting used to.

As they left the room, Hermione, who had recovered from her outburst, spoke to both Ron and Harry. "The Healers keep telling me I've been here for five days. Has it really only been five days? Because I feel like it's been forever…"

"Believe us Hermione, it's been five days," said Harry from her left.

"– But it feels like much longer," said Ron, smiling slightly at her. Hermione smiled back, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"I've missed you both so much," she said, linking her arms through each of theirs. "I want to go home so badly."

"We're going home, Hermione," said Ron, squeezing her arm reassuringly. She looked up at him like he was the only thing that truly existed, and he knew he was really in love with Hermione Granger.


	14. The Harsh Intrusion

Life was beginning to return to normal. Ron and Harry had returned to work, while Hermione stayed at home during the day, because her boss insisted she stay at home until she was completely sorted out.

Hermione, of course, completely objected to this injustice, and demanded Ron and Harry to back her up. But her two best friends only agreed with her boss, which sent her into an emotional rage, utterly proving their point.

She had never been this emotional in her whole life, not even during her adolescence. She was told it was a side effect to her godforsaken potion, but she wasn't sure how long she would be able to take it before she chucked the bottle of black troll boogies at the wall. She was going crazy without her job, and all she did all day was sit around and read, and wait for Ron and Harry to return home.

One day, as Hermione read through Hogwarts, a History for the millionth time, her darker thoughts began to consume her.

_Why am I sitting here while Ron and Harry go out to fight Death Eaters like a bloody housewife? I don't deserve this!_

Because they think you're mad.

_Why can't I go back to my job? Why am I being treated like a nutter, do they think I'll go out and attack my coworkers?_

Yes, they think you're going mad.

_That doesn't give them any right! I'm the same as I've always been; I've just had some emotional pain, that's all. Why are they tiptoeing around me like I'm a bloody bomb?_

Because you're going mad.

_SHUT UP!_

Hermione stood up quickly, her thoughts having brought her to the breaking point. She thrust her book across the room, where it bounced against the wall and fell to the floor. She then looked around once more, finding a picture of herself, Ron and Harry in fourth year and chucking that too. The frame broke against the wall and the glass shattered across the floor.

She screamed with rage and finally collapsed to the floor in tears. She huddled against the wall of the sitting room and cried for what felt like hours.

When she had finally gotten up to look at herself in a mirror, the sun was sinking on the horizon against an inky-colored sky. The clock read five forty-five. Harry and Ron were expected home at six.

She looked in the mirror in the hallway, which showed that her eyes were puffy and it was clear she had been crying. She groaned impatiently and wiped her eyes roughly, but it did no good.

She returned to the sitting room, and picked up the frame and picture, putting them on the table while picking up the rest of the pieces of glass, cutting herself and cursing, until she remembered her wand. She kicked herself internally and muttered "Reparo", returning the frame and picture to its original state.

Hermione picked up the book she had thrown, and immediately regretted her actions. Her favorite book now had a dent in the binding, and some of the pages had been ripped.

A sudden banging on the door made her jump. She stared at the door suspiciously. Harry and Ron usually came through the Floo, or they would Disapparate straight into the flat, so it couldn't be either of them. Could it be a family member…?

The banging continued, loud and harsh. No Weasley or Granger would ever be that impatient, it was as if the person at the door was threatening her: "Open the door now, or else."

Hermione withdrew her wand and approached the door, wand at the ready. Before she could as much as turn the handle, however, the door flew open and three masked men entered her flat.

Before she could react, the tallest of the men pointed his wand at her and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

Hermione tried to hang on to her wand, but the spell wrestled it from her fingers, and it flew into the man's hand. She couldn't see their faces, but Hermione was sure that the men's faces were victorious.

Faster than anything she could imagine, the men were suddenly within centimeters of her face, and the man who had her wand closed his fingers around her throat, cutting off her airway. From behind his mask came two harsh words:

"_Where's Potter?"_


	15. The Dark Hopelessness

Ron and Harry were in the Auror Department, when Ron glanced at the clock above the desk and noticed it was five past six.

"Alright," sighed Ron, shuffling the papers spread out on his desk. "I'm done, it's past six." It had been a rather stressful day, and both men were ready to go home. Ron particularly, was ready to see Hermione's face again.

"Me too," agreed Harry, waving his wand so his papers stacked themselves neatly and put themselves into his briefcase. They left the office and left the Department, finding a hearth to step into, and Flooed straight out of the Ministry.

Once on the streets of London, Harry Disapparated to the Burrow; he was visiting Ginny on this Friday night. Ron Disapparated straight outside of their flat, misinterpreting the spot inside his flat where he usually lands.

He opened the door, and called into the eerie quiet. "Hermione, I'm home!"

He turned a corner and entered the kitchen, looking around. She was no where to be found, and their flat was remotely small. Something was not right…

Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the collar of his robes from behind, and Ron became face to face with two masked Death Eaters

"Hello, ginger," said the first Death Eater, his voice harsh with relish, as his wand stabbed Ron's neck like poison. "We have someone for you." And a third masked Death Eater stepped out of the shadows, dragging a very familiar-looking body bonded with ropes with him.

Hermione looked up at him, stumbling into the light, her eyes filled with tears and the wand of the last Death Eater poking her throat. She mouthed his name, but no sound came out. She was under a Silencing Charm.

Ron stared in disbelief at the girl who had been through so much. She suffers more than the normal human being could ever handle, and now she had to handle _this?_

His whole body was shaking, and he could feel his blood pressure rising at a dangerous pace and his anger level increased and his thoughts surged…

_Why _was she destined to suffer so much? What had she done? As far back as Ron could remember, she had done nothing but memorize facts and keep the reputation of being a caring and loving person. Why did that deserve torture and Death Eater attraction?

He only had one shot to get Hermione out of this in one piece, and he would get her out of the harmful hands of the Death Eaters if it killed him in the process…

His temper finally exploded and he wrestled out of the Death Eater's grip, catching him off guard with his sudden reaction. He pointed his wand at the first Death Eater and shouted, "_STUPEFY!"_

The second Death Eater deflected it, which only made Ron angrier. The Death Eater who was holding onto Hermione let her drop to the ground as he joined in on the duel. As he sent a stunning spell at the third Death Eater (who deflected it) he heard a familiar clatter of wood on the floor over the roar of the spell…

Ron dueled the three Death Eaters, deflecting their spells and shooting similar spells back at them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione, still bound in the ropes, inching toward her wand, which had been what made the clatter on the floor; it had fallen out of the pocket of the Death Eater. If Ron could keep the two villains busy and distracted, maybe Hermione could get to her wand…

Unfortunately, Ron's hopes were crushed as one of the Death Eaters followed his line of vision and saw Hermione crawling toward her wand.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, MUDBLOOD!" he shot a jet of red light that both Ron and Hermione knew too well toward her and she screamed at the contact of the Cruciatus Curse.

After hearing her screams from the dungeon of Malfoy Manor, seeing her broken and starving in the basement of Will Booker, and finally, seeing her bound with rope at the hands of Death Eaters once again, Ron finally lost all sense of what was right and what was wrong. He lost all sense of consequences, of what could happen to him in the future because of his actions. The only sense he saw was Hermione, because she had always been the only one in the world who made sense.

And because Hermione was the only thing that made sense, Ron didn't see any other reason not to send the deadly jet of the green light at the Death Eater who was performing the torture curse on the only girl he had ever loved.

The Death Eater fell backwards, stiff as a board, and lay dead at Ron's feet.

The other Death Eater looked from his companion to Ron, and he could tell that he was baring his teeth behind that mask. Before the Death Eater could think to do anything more, Ron pointed his wand at him and shouted, "_Avada Kedavra!_" for a second time.

The third Death Eater hissed as he watched second companion fall to the ground. Ron pointed his wand at the only live Death Eater left. Just as he was about to utter the Unforgivable words for a third time, the masked man Disapparated with a single _pop!_

Taken aback by the sudden and cowardly departure of the Death Eater, Ron strode past the two dead Death Eaters and approached Hermione, kneeling down next to her and gently untying the knots of the ropes. He lifted the Silencing charm from her as she shook the ropes off and melted into his arms. Ron still shook with rage, because he was squeezing her tighter than usual; she gasped with surprise over his shoulder. He released her and backed a few feet away.

"I'm sorry!" said Ron, terrified of harming her any further. "Did I hurt you?"

Hermione wordlessly shook her head, looking at him with tear-filled eyes. "You could never hurt me, Ron."

The events that had happened in the past few minutes suddenly washed over Ron. He turned away from Hermione, his hands running roughly through his own hair and the unbelievable fury surging through him. His foot nudged one of the bodies of the Death Eaters and he felt as if he would be sick.

"Ron, I'm sorry, I –"

"_You're _sorry?" yelled Ron, spinning on his heel to face her. "Bloody _hell_, Hermione, you're the last person on _earth_ who should be sorry! It's this lot –" Ron kicked the body of one of the Death Eaters and Hermione winced "– who should be sorry."

"Don't do that, Ron," said Hermione, though her usually-authorized voice sounded broken. "You didn't have to kill them."

"I sure as hell did! You think I'm just going to sit by and watch as they torture you?" Ron's temper was rising at a rapid pace, and he backed away from her, terrified he would shake her to make her understand. "It's like I can't even protect you anymore! Every time I leave you alone, you're just another target!" The image of Hermione being tortured flashed through his head, and tears began to well in his eyes. He wiped away impatiently and turned away from her.

He heard her approach him behind him and felt her arms wrapped around his torso. He spun around in her arms and wrapped his own arms around her, feeling the warmth of her back, which made the tears finally fall. He embraced her harder and rested his head on top of hers.

He had no idea how long they stood like this, crying in each other's arms. All he knew was that things had gone from horrible to hopeless.

They both said nothing for the rest of the night. There were no words needed.


	16. The Remorseful Regrets

Over the course of the next few days, Ron's thoughts were consumed completely by the images of the two Death Eaters he had killed.

After the break-in in their flat, Ron had sent a Patronus to the Ministry, requesting help from the other Aurors. Harry showed up with Kingsley and John Dawlish, and they (Harry especially) were shocked that Ron had actually killed the Death Eaters. Because he was an Auror and he had legitimate reasons for killing the Death Eaters (attack on an innocent witch and/or wizard, use of an Unforgivable Curse, and the history of the Death Eaters showed that they would've probably gotten a death sentence if have been caught earlier), he was not arrested. However, that did not take away the guilty emotions filling every inch of his body.

"Ron, talk to me."

He looked up to meet the brown eyes of Hermione, who was staring at him both suspiciously and worriedly. They were in their flat while Harry was at the Burrow visiting Ginny.

"What?" he asked, rubbing his temples in an effort to remove the images of the dead Death Eaters from his head. That only triggered flashes of Hermione's many tortures to fly through his head, and he felt rage once again.

"Ron, what's wrong? Lately, you haven't really been yourself," said Hermione, watching him curiously. "You've been really…distant."

He met her eyes once again and saw pleads resting in her pupils, unspoken but never more clearly asking for him to come back to her.

How could he have been so selfish? Here was Hermione, battling with the most trying time in her life, and he was sitting worrying about some nameless Death Eaters he had killed, who had deserved to die to begin with.

"I'm so sorry, love," said Ron, feeling like a complete arse. He opened his arms and wrapped her up against his chest. She enveloped his torso in her own arms and mumbled against his rapid heartbeat, "Tell me what's on your mind."

What _was_ on his mind? He usually could tell Hermione anything, but at the moment, he found himself speechless. He knew he was having regrets for killing the Death Eaters, especially since he had never killed anyone before, not even during the war. If he told Hermione this, however, he feared she might think he was afraid of protecting her, which he knew he was certainly _not_.

He was also worried about Hermione, as he was most of the time. But he had his reasons. As he stood holding onto her, he felt how thin she still was from the torture and starvation she received nearly three months ago. He was watching her very carefully lately, and noticed how her skin resembled a ghostly gray color. Her face was still rather sunken and hollow, and he knew she would resemble a skeleton in a few months' time. He knew she was eating, because he watched her do it three times a day. The only problem was that she didn't seem to be eating enough. This seemed to be a side affect from her potion, because along with the scary physical appearance, Hermione also seemed to be much more emotional and depressed than she had ever been in her life.

"I don't know," he finally muttered, his voice vibrating off of the top of her head, on which he was resting his cheek. "I've…never killed anyone before. And when I think of what I've done, I kind of regret it. But then I think of what they did to you and what they've done to others, and I don't regret it all; I think that I've done the right thing. What does that mean?"

Hermione pulled back enough to face him, and placed his face in her hands. Ron closed his eyes momentarily at the feel of her; every once in a while he needed that physical connection that told him she was still alive.

"It means you have a good heart," said Hermione smiling up at him. "I'd be worried if you had enjoyed killing them; no one who has even an ounce of good in them enjoys killing someone else. If you didn't regret it, I think I would be a little frightened of you, Ron."

Ron pondered what she said, and realized it made sense. "But then I thought of what they've done, to you and anyone else, and I think they deserved it. That _can't _mean that I have a good heart –"

"No," Hermione cut him off, "It means you have a good heart and that you're _you_. If you weren't worried about everyone else around you, you wouldn't be Ron. It's completely normal, Ron, and it's what I love about you. The fact that you put your family and friends and _me _before your own safety is what makes you the bravest man in the world."

"What about Harry?" Ron's question was filled with unspoken worry, and Hermione smiled slightly.

"Harry's brave too," she said, her forehead now touching his, "But I'm not in love with Harry."

This pulled a grin out of Ron, and he gently kissed her soundly. "I am worried about you. You been really distant and it's not like you."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Believe me, I know." She began to tug away from him, but he held onto her arm, his face now etched with concern. He met her eyes and frowned. "See what I mean? You're not telling me something, Hermione, and you always tell me everything –"

"Ron, I'm fine!" snapped Hermione, her lovely mood suddenly turned sour. Her eyes were blazing with annoyance as she turned her back on him.

"No, you're not, Hermione!" yelled Ron, spinning her around to face him again. "You haven't been yourself for months! I want to help you more than anything, but I can't do that if you don't tell me what's going through your head!"

Hermione ripped her arm from his and turned silently away from him, refusing to look him in the eyes. Ron couldn't believe her.

"I just told you what's been going on in my head," said Ron, his voice shaking, "so why won't you do the same for me?"

"You have no idea!" shouted Hermione suddenly, her eyes filled with fury and unshed tears. "Yes, you've killed two Death Eaters who had it coming to them, but I'm drinking this potion that's supposed to be keeping me from going bonkers, when in fact, it's doing the exact opposite!"

Ron's eyes grew huge with shock and surprise. "Hermione, what are you talking about?" he asked in a deadly whisper.

She looked around, her breathing ragged as she snatched up her set of keys and her wand and opened the door to their flat.

"Hermione!" Ron caught her arm and said, "Don't do this! C'mon, I just want to talk to you, I want to be able to help you…"

She looked at him with a glare mixed with pity and anger. "You can't help me, Ron. Not anymore."

This shocked Ron so much that he let go of her arm, and she turned and slammed the door in his face.

Tears were now pouring down his face as he gripped his vibrant hair with grief and enraged sorrow.

"DAMMIT!" he yelled. He snatched up the empty teacup he had drunk from an hour previously and chucked it across the room, where it shattered against the wall.

Breathing heavily with madness, he stormed into Harry's room, where he dug in the drawers until he found what he was looking for: The Invisibility Cloak. He whipped it over himself, snatched up his set of keys, Hermione's potion, and his wand and left the flat.


	17. The Blunt Honesty

Outside their flat, it was raining harder than it ever had that year. Ron swore under his breath as he lit his wand under the Cloak and followed Hermione, who was only feet in front of him, to an unknown whereabouts.

She slowly led him deep into Diagon Alley, past Gringotts, past Flourish and Blotts, past all the stores that emitted warmth and golden light from within their windows. Hermione turned a dark corner, and Ron held his wand up to the sign, which read: "Knockturn Alley".

Ron frowned and followed her into the black abyss that was the alleyway. She finally sat down on a bench, exactly between Diagon and Knockturn Alley. She sat staring at her feet, mumbling to herself. Ron eyes widened; he knew this happened when she was due to take her potion. If she was overdue, she could start having hallucinations within an hour.

Ron was about to reveal himself when Hermione did something else. She withdrew her wand from her pocket and pointed it to her chin. Ron's jaw dropped and his eyes widened once more; he knew exactly what she was about to do.

Just as she was about to utter the Unforgivable words, Ron pointed his wand at hers through the Cloak and shouted, "_Expelliarmus!"_

Hermione's wand flew from her grasp and she looked round at invisible figure. "Who's there?" she demanded, her voice harsh.

Ron, however, swept past her to pick up her wand, and stowed it away in his pocket. She felt him move, because she turned in his direction. "Who's there? Reveal yourself, or I'll –"

"You'll do what, Hermione?" The air shimmered as Ron revealed himself, taking off the Cloak and stuffing it into his pocket.

"Ron!" she shouted exasperatedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life, apparently!" Ron yelled back heatedly. "You were just about to kill yourself, weren't you?"

Hermione shook her head and turned a brilliant red. "That's none of your business –"

Ron only stared at her, mouth agape. "_None of my business?_ Of course it's my bloody business, Hermione! I'm the one whose been making sure you take this bloody potion so you don't go _mad_!"

Hermione only stared at him. Ron had never actually admitted out loud to her face that she was going mad; she knew he had too much hope for her. Ron caught her surprised expression and continued.

"Yeah, Hermione! I know I've been denying it for months, but you are going absolutely mad! Especially if you act this emotional and you resort to suicide! There's something loose in your head that was unscrewed when you were stuck in that godforsaken basement, because you never acted like this before that happened!"

Hermione only stared at him, not with anger, but with curiosity and slight sadness. Ron took this as a sign that he could step closer to her. "I know it's my fault that this has happened to you; I wasn't listening when you said you were going to meet Booker. I would've gone with you.

"I want _you_, Hermione. But I want the Hermione I fell in love with, not the Hermione Will Booker created. I_ know_ you can get better, and I'm completely willing to make you better, but in order for that to work, I need _you_ to work at it too!"

Hermione now had unshed tears welling in her eyes, but she still had that strange, curious look on her face as she stared at Ron like he was something she had never seen before. Ron only swallowed and continued.

"It's going to be a hell of a lot of work, I know that. But I'm willing to do it for you, because I want you more than anything! But in order to get the real you back, Hermione, you have to be willing to let the real you through again."

He stared into those brown eyes that were searching his so thoroughly, and suddenly, faster than he could process, she was kissing him much more passionately than she had ever done before. They stood like this in the rain, groping and embracing for what felt like forever. Finally, she withdrew from him, breathing heavily. Her tearful eyes met his, and she gently kissed his forehead.

"Thank you so much, Ron," she said. "No one has been that honest with me in a long time."

Ron stared at her in wonder, his arms running up and down her back. He never knew she would ever actually be happy when he called her mad.

"I do want to work at this," she told him, stroking his face gently with her thumb. "I'm tired of being moody and emotional, and I want to be happy again."

Ron sighed a breath of relief. "I'm so happy to hear you say that." He suddenly remembered something. He removed his arms from around Hermione and reached inside of his pocket, withdrawing the small vial of black potion. She made a face, but drank from it nonetheless.

A visual difference was immediately seen by Ron. Her brown eyes no longer had a mad look to them, but they looked more normal. She smiled softly at him, and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "It's not your fault this happened to me."

Ron smirked. He didn't completely believe that, but he knew better than to start arguing with her now. Instead, he put an arm around her, leading her out of the alleyway, the rain still pouring around them.

Neither Ron nor Hermione knew it, but by the bluntness and honesty of Ron's words, he had just saved her sanity.


	18. At Peace

~ One Year Later ~

On the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, there were many happy, bright-looking shops that would catch the attention of the even most serious-minded people. If one were to walk farther down the road of the wizarding streets, one would find the bookshop called Flourish and Blotts, which sat close to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. It was broken down and old due to a previous war, but still near and dear to a certain witch's heart.

At the moment, Hermione would be found deep inside this bookshop, perusing the shelves for no titles in particular. Every once in a while, she would find a book that looked interesting (of course, it was on the top shelf) and would stretch on the tips of her toes to reach it.

Many changes had entered Hermione's life in the last year. She had continued to take the potion that controlled her mental health, both for her own sanity and for Ron. She had also begun to see two different therapists (one muggle and one wizarding) in order to keep her emotions in check. It had been her idea, and both Harry and Ron had hastily agreed with it.

She no longer lived with both Harry and Ron; Harry had moved into a flat with Ginny just blocks from theirs just a few months ago, right after the youngest Weasley had left Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione were left with a flat to themselves, and Hermione could never be happier.

If she was being honest with herself, Hermione did feel much better than she had one year ago. She did have moments where she would become emotional and moody, but she never had any thoughts of suicide like she had when Ron had followed her that night to Knockturn Alley. She was still improving, and she was proud of the progress she had already made.

The bell over the door to the store tinkled, but Hermione didn't turn to look; she was reaching for another book that was put high over her head. The sound of footsteps told her that the person was approaching her and before she could look behind her, a freckled, pale arm had reached up and grabbed the book she had been reaching for.

Hermione smiled and looked around at the grinning face of Ron Weasley. "Hey, I thought you didn't get out of work until six."

"I was able to sneak away," said Ron, giving her the book and a gentle kiss. "What are you doing here? You really shouldn't be out in your condition…"

"Ron, I thought you promised to give me freedom now that I've become better." Hermione fixed him with a stern look but he didn't recoil, he only rolled his eyes.

"You _know _that's not what I meant."

Hermione only smiled as she made her way up to the front of the store to purchase her books.

Once outside, Ron wrapped an arm around her waist, and bent his neck to speak into her ear. "C'mon, I want to get you home."

"Alright, but I want to walk. The Disapparating only makes me queasy these days."

Ron grinned and placed a hand on Hermione's belly, which was protruding much farther than usual away from her torso. She smiled and placed a hand over his, just as they both were able to feel the infant within her kick.

"Speaking of your incident," said Ron, referring to Hermione's previous madness, "How are you? Are you sure you're getting better?"

Ron asked Hermione about her condition at least once a day (despite the fact that it was over a year ago) along with their status on their unborn child. Sometimes she found it annoying, especially when she was exceptionally moody. But on other days, like today, she found it adorable that he cared so much for not only her, but the new life growing inside her as well.

Hermione grabbed his hand and laced her fingers through his. "I'm so much better, Ron. You've made me better, along with this baby; this pregnancy has made me better too. I couldn't have made myself healthy again without you."

At this, Ron grinned like nothing else she could've said would make him happier. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently kissed her forehead as they both strolled back to their flat, finally at peace, both inside and out.


End file.
